When most people think of the U.S. Secret Service, they think about presidential protection.
But the Secret Service also investigates financial crimes and is currently involved in the investigation of the theft of $220,000 from the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department.
Stavros Nikolakakos, assistant special agent in charge at the Secret Service’s Washington Field Office, told WTOP the crimes that target wire transfers of large sums of money fall under the “business email compromise” category and have a devastating impact on companies and individuals.
“We’re looking at losses of $2.9 billion in 2023, with an average loss of $135,000 per incident,” he said.
Nikolakakos said the people behind these cybercrimes typically have gained access to email accounts, either an individual’s or that of a business, and are looking to take advantage of a planned financial transaction.
The scammers will often spoof the account of a bank or broker that a consumer is working with and send along an invoice or email that will contain one or more red flags.
First, said Nikolakakos, they’ll urge the consumer to act fast or, “You’re going to miss out on this closing, you’re going to miss out on this vehicle,” or if you owe money, they may say that you’ll incur late fees unless you pay by close of the business day.
A second glaring sign that something’s fishy, said Nikolakakos, is notification of a change in where to send your payment. They may tell you they’ve changed the bank or insurance company they work with, giving you a new, unfamiliar email, phone number or link to make your payment.
“What they do is they move the money from the victim account to a shell corporation to another shell corporation, and they try to get it overseas,” Nikolakakos said.
Other hallmarks of suspicious activity: the email origin isn’t quite right. In the case of “wtop.com,” for example, Nikolakakos said a scammer might switch up the email address, using two letter v’s to make it look like a “w,” or substituting the number “0” where the “O” in “WTOP” should be.
And finally, odd syntax or vague salutations in communications such as “Dear Sir/Madam,” are signs they are casting a wide net.
One word frequently used in scammers’ communications, according to Nikolakakos, is the word “kindly.” He jokingly called it his “personal favorite” red flag, saying, “Maybe it’s because I’m a New Yorker and I just don’t use the word ‘kindly,’ but I see that a lot.”
If a consumer gets these kinds of emails or messages, Nikolakakos said never click on a link if you have any reservations. Instead, go back to the source: your bank, your real estate broker, the car dealer, and confirm where payments should be sent and completed.
And if you are victimized, Nikolakakos said do not hesitate to report it first to your bank, then to the business you’ve been dealing with and to police. He told WTOP filling out a police report is vital, because that will be required when attempting to recover funds.
“Hours count, minutes count,” Nikolakakos said.
When suspected cybercrimes are reported within 24 to 48 hours, the chances of a positive outcome are greater, he said.
“We get dozens of calls a week, and it breaks our hearts because a lot of times we’re contacted late and there’s little we can do,” he said.
Once the crime’s reported, Nikolakakos said he also recommends doing a full check of your online accounts and email settings.
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